Zell: Only the lonely?
by Mark 'Manix' Odell
Summary: Poor old Zell - he thinks nobody loves him...Well somebody does, and he quite literally runs into her! THIS IS THE FULL VERSION! PLUS CHAPTER 4!
1. Default Chapter

Zell sat, tired and depressed at one of Balamb Garden's many lunch benches, alone. As usual. Zell was a hero. Supposedly. But there was one thing missing from his life, and it didn't take much to guess what he felt he was missing.

He looked out into the park, where Rinoa and Squall were playfully kissing and cuddling on the grass. He smiled, but only because he knew the two of them weren't squabbling anymore with Squall 'Whatevering' all over the place.

He looked over to the canteen, where Irvine and Selphie were also canoodling in the shade of a parasol, it was a hot day and at the moment Balamb Garden was pretty inactive. 

He was happy for them. Pity nobody was happy for him. Then again, that was his nature – He was pretty selfless, and despite his endlessly cheerful exterior, he was actually burning up inside.

Zell leaned on his elbows, and stared into the middle distance. Every since they'd come back from defeating Ultimecia, it seemed that _every_ guy had a girlfriend. Oh, he was told millions of times by Quistis that there 'was somebody for him out there' but in his opinion that was absolute rubbish.

He'd come back, the conquering hero, crowds of people had been there to greet them home – but not a single girl had gone near him. The closest he'd got was at the celebratory dinner in the evening, where he'd met a very pretty girl, whom he'd entirely failed to get off with.

_'Oh well'_ he thought _'I guess I am destined to be lonely after all, I mean…'_

He decided to stop thinking about it, and decided to take a walk. 

Zell thought that maybe a refreshing walk around the parade ground would do him some good, take his mind off things. 

He started towards the path, ready to just forget his own inadequacies and then-

"Hey, Zell!"

Zell turned, only to see Irvine swaggering towards him, clutching Selphie to his side, grinning like a cheshire cat. 

_'I REALLY hate him when he puts that grin on' _Zell thought, smiling in a forced way _'it's like he's doing it deliberately'_

"So…Zell? How's it going?"

"Not bad" Zell remarked.

Selphie looked at him sympathetically.

"Cut up about not having a girlfriend, huh?"

Zell tried not to show any emotional reaction, but failed miserably.

"I see" Selphie said "Don't worry! There's loads of pretty girls in Balamb, and I'm sure at least one of them's crazy for you!"

"Yeah, right" Zell muttered "That's what Squall said when we came back from beating Ultimecia"

"Look, it's not that hard!" Irvine insisted "Just grab a girl, flick on the charm and you'll have her in no time"

This time, Zell just cracked – It had been building up, but now something had snapped.

"It's easy enough for you to say!!" he yelled, his voice cracking "I don't happen to have that aura of charm that you do!! You've got Selphie, Squall's got Rinoa!! Who have I got?! Nobody!! Some of us in this big old world DON'T have the luck others do!!!"

"Calm down!" Selphie soothed.

"NO!!" Zell yelled "IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!!!" 

He turned and ran down the path, furiously angry. As he ran, he began to cry – For the first time in years, Zell Dincht was crying.

He just wanted to run away and never come back. Ever.

Zell ran and ran, until the shouting forms of Selphie and Irvine were left far behind.

Zell ran and ran, then suddenly he clipped his foot on a stone and he found himself tumbling down onto the ground. His face met soil as he fell off the path, and he cried hard into it, thumping the ground in anger and despair.

He just wanted the ground to swallow him up, to remove this feeling of inadequacy and pain that hurt him so.

He implored the sky to strike him down with some freak bolt of lightning. 

He just didn't want to carry on any longer.

Why did everybody else get somebody? What had he done to remain single? What single fault had prevented him from ever meeting anybody? It just wasn't-

"Are you okay?" a soft voice asked him. He looked up, to see a pair of very attractive and lightly tanned legs, clad in traditional SeeD female dress. The legs had a skirt wrapped firmly around the top of them, and as he looked further up, a well formed body clad in a fully trained SeeD's uniform. He looked up further to see a kindly and very beautiful face, probably only a month or two older than his own. The face belonged to instructor Xu. 

He remembered once having a crush on Xu. Old feelings, lying dormant for ages rose to the surface, filled him up inside.

"Oh…hi Xu…" He stood up, red with embarrassment.

"Zell?" She peered at him, and then drew back, face sympathetic and yet sad "Oh my…you've been crying…"

"Please" Zell pleaded "Don't tell anybody, please!"

"Don't worry" she whispered "I won't"

He smiled, bashful and yet thankful.

"So…what's up? Why did I find you flat out on the floor like that?"

"I …kind of…lost it with Irvine and Selphie"

"Oh right…what were they doing?"

"Well, it wasn't Selphie really, more Irvine…He just seems to love rubbing the salt into the wound, swaggering around with Selphie on his elbow, grinning like a maniac and reminding me that I'm still single"

He caught Xu's eye, and she looked down a little, cheeks slightly red.

'_Was she…?_' he thought '_Nah…_'

"Don't worry, I'm single too" she replied "Nobody seems interested in me"

"Xu, how could somebody NOT be interested in you? You're beautiful…oh!" 

Zell blushed a deep red, as did Xu, who smiled a little, placing her hand to her face to hide her blushes. 

"Fancy taking a walk?" he asked.

Xu nodded.

"Sure…why not?" she replied, and together, they took a stroll down the path.

Xu, while generally being very quiet, was more talkative than she'd ever hope she could be. 

Ever since walking into Zell, she'd felt a feeling come over her that she'd never felt before. She'd known Zell, but she'd never got a chance to talk to him or even get up close.

Xu realised that she felt something for Zell now – She looked up at his face as he talked to her about an amusing incident at his foster parents house a while ago…and realised that he was really very cute…when he smiled, she felt electric, and her body practically melted when he turned his bright blue eyes on her.

What she didn't want to do however, was give off too many signals as to the fact that she was now very attracted to him, and now it was more than that – physical attraction had led to realising that he was a sweet, good-natured and often very funny guy. And those tears…it had touched her, proving that even a hardened warrior like Zell was vulnerable.

Zell himself was also feeling strange. Instead of feeling as depressed as he did earlier, he now felt quite cheerful…now that Xu was with him…he felt…

He looked at her in profile as she told him the story as to how she ended up joining SeeD, and admired her in the sunlight. Perfectly shaped, gorgeous eyes, wonderful glistening hair…he suddenly realised that he was now feeling worryingly attracted towards Xu. 

She listened, she talked back, she was friendly, funny and incredibly sweet – but unlike him, was slightly more introverted than he was. He loved that in her, in some ways one of the things that had initially put him off Selphie was her bounciness, which he liked, but wasn't a quality he wanted to see in his future partner. 

She was also devastatingly intelligent – Damn it, she'd planned a large portion of their Dollet training campaign and she'd even had the guts to have a go at Seifer and actually get away with it!

They talked and talked, but when they got back to the dorms, Xu asked him to stop and turned to him.

"Hey Zell…I know it's a little fresh of me…but do you want to…meet up again?"

Zell felt himself tingle

"I wouldn't miss it for the world…anything you want, it's your choice"

She smiled.

_'He's so sweet!_' she thought, before pulling a piece of note paper she used during SeeD training days, tore a piece off and scribbled something down with a pencil she kept in the same pocket.

She handed it over, smiling, he savoured the touch of her skin on his.

"Be there" she said, smiling even wider.

"I will" he replied, smiling also.

She walked off in the direction of the dorms, sneaking a few glances back at him…

'_Oh Xu you foolish, foolish girl…you're in love…_' she thought, sighing as she went back into her dorm.

Zell looked at the piece of paper. It said:

THE QUAD, 6:00PM, TOMORROW – BE THERE

He smiled. He wouldn't miss it for the world.

**END OF PART ONE**


	2. CHAPTER 2

Irvine looked at Selphie.

"Was it something I said?" he asked.

"Zell's lonely" Selphie said "He didn't need reminding of it" 

"Well I didn't know he'd take it so personally!"

Selphie looked at him, insistently. 

"You want me to apologise, right?" 

"Yes – and you're going to do it when I'm watching you to make sure you do it"

Irvine rolled his eyes.

"Yes ma'am"

Xu wasn't sure what just came over her. For the first time in life, she had obtained some kind of rhythm. She practically bounced into her class, which she was supposed to be teaching, whistling and her face a picture of happiness.

Her students were more than slightly confused at her unusual euphoric mood, seeing her singing to herself as she collected up the papers from their previous written exam and handed the fully marked pieces of paper back to her students. They watched in bewilderment as the normally fairly reserved Xu whistled jauntily, and practically skipped back to her desk.

"Afternoon students!" Xu announced, cheerfully.

One young man put his hand up.

"Uh…are you okay, ma'am?"

"Never felt better!" Xu replied, in the exact same tone of voice.

This worried students. It wasn't that she was moody for the rest of the time exactly, but she was normally quite conservative, answering with a 'Fine' was the usual answer from Xu.

Her astonished class was forced to get down to work, and as she set them their work, Xu began to daydream. 

'_He likes me!' _She thought, happily '_He really does like me!'_

She hadn't dated for years – if ever at all. Once she had dated, but that had been years ago and she was still quite nervous about the idea. 

Dating was not a word you generally associated with Xu, a word that nobody did ever. But now she had the chance to prove the sceptics wrong – She could and would date somebody.

'_I can be sure of that' _she thought.

"Got a date, ma'am?" one of the younger SeeDs asked her.

Xu blushed, and tried to answer – But her words got stuck in her mouth, and she just couldn't answer.

"You have? Wow! Who is he? Is he cute?" another girl asked.

Xu folded her arms, and looked at her class sternly, despite her inner mood.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out another time – Now why don't you get back to work?" 

There was a chorus of mumbled 'Yes ma'am', and soon the room was silent again. Xu sat down at her desk, and stared into space as she thought dreamily about the next evening. She couldn't wait.

_'Oh Zell…´_she thought, with a cheery sigh _'I love you…_'

Zell was also in a good mood. As if somebody had been listening to him from up above, he found that the days coming up now had a shape, a pattern rather than being an oblivion like future. 

His heart was lighter, his face brighter and his feet felt like they could just let him leap up into the sky and sing one word to whoever would listen;

_Xu…Xu…Xu…_

Her name was almost musical, he couldn't stop thinking about her name and her. Everything about her was perfect, and now tomorrow evening he'd be able to tell her how he really felt.

But how? What if she didn't like him as much as he liked her? What if…

He shook his head. He'd find out soon enough what she really thought of him.

"Hey, Zell!"

Zell turned, to see Irvine walking up to him, Selphie in tow as usual.

"Oh, hey Irvine!"

Irvine raised an eyebrow, quizzically.

"You've cheered up…something good happened?"

Zell couldn't help but grin.

"You could say that, yeah" 

"Oh…" Irvine nodded, but Selphie then nudged him hard in the ribs. He winced "Oh yeah, I'm sorry for saying what I said earlier – It was totally unnecessary"

"Don't worry" Zell replied "I've made quite a bit of progress anyway"

Selphie smiled a bright, and also relieved smile.

"You mean you've got a girlfriend?!"

"Well…" Zell thought of words to use appropriately "Sort of…I don't know if she feels the same way about me yet, but we have got a date tomorrow night"

"A date?" Irvine slapped Zell on the back "Well done, man! Knew you could do it! So, who is this amazing girl?"

Zell grinned.

"Shan't tell you" 

"Oh c'mon…!"

"Sorry!" Zell said, grinning "I don't think I want to tell you yet"

It was a day later, and Zell was in his room, checking himself over. His date was in three hours, and yet he was still standing here making sure he didn't look like a total idiot. He'd swapped his baggy blue trousers for a pair that more befitted an elegant young gentleman trying to impress his date without being too artificial, although he tried not to change too much – he'd seen enough movies to know that girls didn't like guys who were overdressed, neither did they like slobs. 

Due to the peace currently settling in the world, SeeD found themselves less in demand, so Zell had more time on his hands. He'd spent this time asking Selphie what kinds of scents girls liked. Selphie had smiled, and given him a name – Irvine had given him a price, with a slight wince. He'd also asked Selphie what kinds of gifts girls liked – Zell had dated once or twice, but this time he really wanted a good impression. Selphie recommended flowers. Zell went down into town in the morning, and bought the scent that had been recommended to him. It was so expensive, Zell had reckoned that the amount of money used for it could easily fund Dollet's government for a year and a half. He also bought the best flowers her could find, and got back before they even started to look like drooping, quickly putting them in water. 

Had to get it right…

He stood back in the mirror, looking at himself. Smart, but casual. Perfect. He just hoped that Xu wouldn't mind.

_'Right Zell' _he thought to himself _'Tonight is going to be the BEST night of your entire life, providing you play your cards right'_

An hour after Zell had finished preparing, Xu was also readying herself. 

Xu had been worried as to the kind of girls Zell liked, and had even thought of asking around to see what kind of a dress Zell would be impressed by.

She had taken the afternoon off, and had taken a trip into Balamb to buy herself a decent dress. She didn't want to be overdressed for the occasion, but she didn't think that he'd be particularly impressed if she turned up in the clothes she wore at weekends to a date.

She had eventually chosen a black dress that took her liking, and so then she had decided to buy herself a pair of proper earrings – She'd never found time for them, but now…

They were diamond studded ones, and very beautiful too. She wanted to show just how feminine she could look, she'd been asking Quistis what the best hair styles were – Quistis had said she wasn't sure, so she decided to ask Rinoa, who had finally helped her out. 

'Wear it natural' Rinoa had said 'Boys love hair – especially hair like yours, it'll go down a storm!'

She just hoped that Rinoa was right as she gently applied some perfume and lipstick (although not at the same time, obviously).

Xu looked at the final results.

Good, she thought, not too bad at all.

It was a warm evening, and Zell knew he was late. He'd spent so long making sure he looked fine in the mirror, that he hadn't noticed it was 5:55pm.

He grabbed the flowers, and ran like hell. Zell arrived, breathless, in the Quad at 5:59. He was just on time. As Zell walked towards the newly constructed stage, he scanned the area for Xu. There were two other couples…but no Xu.

His heart sank. 

"Zell!"

He spun round, and to his relief, here came Xu…his jaw dropped. She looked beautiful. She looked absolutely breathtaking, and in the setting sun, she glowed, like an angel.

"Wow…" he gaped as she walked up to him, looking hopeful "You look so beautiful…"

Xu blushed.

"Thanks" she replied. 

He handed her the flowers, and her face broke into an excited smile.

"I hope you like them"

"Oh Zell! That's so sweet! They're beautiful…" she sniffed them deeply "And they smell wonderful!"

"It's the least I could do" he replied. 

Then she leaned close to him, and sniffed.

"Mmm…that's a nice smell you've got, I hope you didn't spend a lot of money just to impress me"

"Well, I wanted to" Zell replied, smiling.

"I know this really great place in town" Xu remarked "We can use a SeeD car to get down there, or something"

"Yeah!" Zell grinned "Why not? Let's go!"

Zell put his arm into a loop, the perfect gentleman. Xu smiled happily, and put her arm in it. Arm in arm, they walked towards the garage. Strictly speaking, transport cars were only supposed to be used on missions, but since they were both fully-trained SeeD's and the world was currently quite peaceful, nobody cared really.

Xu held onto Zell, and Zell gently pressed his date close to him. He was going to love this, he just knew it.

**END OF PART TWO**


	3. CHAPTER 3

The restaurant was large, fifteen stories up and very impressive. The walls were all glass, and a huge, awe-inspiring glass dome was directly above their heads, letting in the cool white moonlight. However, several chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, imperceptibly hanging from the ceiling by seemingly invisible chains, also illuminated the room. 

There was faint music playing in the background, but the general mood was busy.

Zell prayed that they would have a space free for both of them. He didn't want to let Xu down by any means.

The maitre'd walked up to both of them, and bowed slightly, although Zell was under the impression the man was concentrating every single of his muscles to remaining stiff.

"Welcome to the Lake Restaurant" the man said, with a thin smile "Do you have a reservation?"

"Uh…No, we were kind of hoping there'd be a few spaces left" Xu said, a little awkwardly.

"Right" the maitre'd eyed them as if they were trying to sell him a second-hand car that obviously wasn't worth a tenth of its asking price.

"Could you check?" Zell asked.

The man nodded, and checked his reservations book.

"Well, what do you know?" the man said, smiling as thinly as he had before "There is one"

They breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where is it?" 

"Table 16, by the window"

Zell smiled reassuringly at Xu, who smiled back. They strode confidently past the maitre'd, and off across the restaurant to the only visible table that was free.

The carpet was soft and red, although it was only like this up to a point – There was a large marble tiled floor underneath the dome for dancing, and it was occupied by a few romancing couples. A few of them were kissing, Zell noted. 

They sat down at the table. There was a single candle in the middle, unlit.

Zell withdrew a hidden lighter from his pocket, and lit the wick. It began to burn, and they both smiled in satisfaction.

"Thanks" she whispered "That's really nice"

They ordered, and talked. They still talked when their food arrived, and talked for a long time afterwards.

It was nearly eleven, and the curfew said they had to be back in Balamb garden by midnight or there'd be hell to pay. 

"…So" Xu began another conversation, leaning forwards "Have you had many girlfriends? Surely you must have had one when you beat Ultimecia"

Zell shook his head, sadly.

"Nah – The focus was on Squall and Irvine as the heroes. Not a single girl seemed interested in me"

"How can that be?" Xu asked "I think you're amazing"

"Well, many people then didn't" he said, putting his hand on the table, as if to grip the table cloth in frustration "It's like every time I'm close, I get blown away"

Xu leaned over sympathetically.

"People didn't even know I existed for a week or two" Zell said, bitterly "I wouldn't have been surprised if they forgot about me totally – People just didn't care or want to know. I felt…so let down"

Xu felt ashamed that she hadn't done this before, and quickly placed her hand on his.

"Zell, I would never do that to anybody – Especially you"

He smiled, hopefully.

"Really?"

_'He's so cute when he smiles like that!_' she thought, dreamily. 

"Never"

"I just want you to know that…well…" Zell seemed a little timid "…That I'd never let you down…ever…you're so special"

Xu felt her heart glow, touched by what he'd said.

His hand gripped hers. She felt his skin, soft to touch, and his gentle caress of her hands as they admired each other in the candlelight.

Zell found himself staring at her, directly in her crystal clear blue eyes. Not for the first time either. 

_'My god she is so beautiful' _he thought, happily _'and not only that – She's interested in me! She's actually been listening to me! And I've been listening to a girl, properly for the first time in ages!'_

"Zell" she began "There's…something I want to tell you…"

"What?" Zell listened intently.

"Uh…" she thought about it for a moment, left it hanging in the air, and then just smiled "Nothing. I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Sure!" he replied.

There was the sound of a band tuning up, various discordant bass sounds as the drummer tried out his drums.

Zell turned to Xu.

"Um…do you want to dance?"

She smiled, face joyful.

"Oh, yes please!"

He stood up, smiled courteously – and took her hand. She nodded, and took it, standing up also.

Then, Zell lead Xu to the dance floor. He slipped his arm around her waist, and took her other hand, still smiling, desperately trying to put her at ease.

She had been at ease for a while, although she still felt a little tension – Did Zell really like her this much? 

The band struck up, the first of the chords from their guitarist flowing through the air like rain. They both knew the song.

Eyes on Me. 

Zell remembered that that Rinoa's mother, Julia, had written it – and it was an excellent romance song.

Their lead female singer, dressed up to the night in a flowing red dress began to sing a beautiful rendition of the song.

Zell didn't know much in the way of dance, but what he did know, he was concentrating on getting right tonight. Xu and Zell's steps moved in perfect unison as the young lady sang…

'I never sang my song – On the stage, on my own…'

They danced, not taking their eyes off each other.

The song continued, and they danced further, feet like feathers as they danced for the entire song. As it began to reach its climax, they slowed a little, and Xu wrapped both of her arms around his upper body, leaning against it with a contented smile on her face. Zell gently stroked her hair, every natural instinct in his body was screaming at him.

_KISS HER! KISS HER!_

__Zell resisted the temptation to do so – What if she didn't want to be kissed? What if she…

'_Oh screw it' _he thought _'It's now or never'_

He gently tilted her face up towards his, eyes glistening like stars. 

Zell placed both his arms around her waist, and moved in for the kiss, leaning slightly down towards her (she wasn't that much smaller than him).

_'Zell' _he told himself as he leaned in _'This is your only chance – Don't let her down'_

__Xu could see the move coming. She'd been waiting for it, and now it was happening. 

_'Oh yes' _she told herself _'Please say he loves me…go for it Zell, please!'_

She closed her eyes, and parted her lips for the kiss.

Zell's lips met hers in the same instant the music finished, Zell felt her soft, divine lips on his. Xu wanted it to be a stronger kiss, so did he. She gently parted her teeth to grant him access to her mouth, and he was more than slightly surprised to feel her press her own tongue against his teeth, which he quickly opened to allow her tongue into his own mouth.

For five minutes, they kissed - their tongues electrically exploring each other's mouths; no crevice was left untouched in their frantically passionate and electric kiss.

He felt her grip on him tighten, and he squeezed her harder.

"Oh Zell…" she whispered "I've waited for this moment all my life"

"Me too, baby" he replied, kissing her forehead "Me too"

"I love you, Zell" 

"I love you Xu"

They were back at the dorms, it had just gone midnight and they were back in time.

Xu and Zell stood in each other's arms, gazing lovingly at each other as they had one last talk before they went to bed.

"…I feel complete" Zell whispered "Without you, the world seems so…cold"

"I feel like I've got some sort of purpose too" she replied "Oh god I do love you"

"I love you too, Xu"

They kissed, greedily.

"Um…Good…night?" Zell tried.

She nodded, letting go.

"Yeah, good night" she replied, and turned to go, before he placed his hand on her arm. She turned to look at him.

"Uh…Xu, baby…"

"Yes, my love?"

"I just wondered…would you want to spend the night with me…in my room…in my bed…"

"…In your bed?" she asked, nodding "I wouldn't want it any other way"

Then she grinned impishly.

"Let's make love" she said, and Zell grinned back in the same fashion, kissing her hard before wrenching open his door, both of them tumbling inside.

Zell woke up, blinking as the sunlight filtered through his blinds into his room.

He suddenly felt very disappointed. It was…just a dream?

Then, he turned to his right – and smiled. No, it wasn't a dream. The naked figure of Xu lay underneath his bedsheets, her left arm draped across his chest and his own right arm draped around her shoulders, her head resting against his body.

He stroked her face. Like an angel.

He gently prodded her arm.

Xu's eyelids flickered open, and bleary eyed she looked up at Zell. She smiled.

"Good morning, Zelly"

"Good morning, my angel"

They kissed.

"Last night was wonderful" she said "You were fantastic"

"Hey, you too babe!" he replied, tickling her, and she giggled as they rolled around in the bedsheets, laughing and kissing.

"So…are we boyfriend and girlfriend now?" he asked her, hopefully.

"Of course we are – nobody else could replace you in my affections, Zell"

"Same with you, Xu"

They smiled, and kissed once again. 

There was a sudden and very loud knock at the door.

Xu and Zell suddenly looked at each other, eyes wide with panic.

"Who…?" Zell gaped

"Why…?" Xu replied.

Then, the door swung open, and Selphie, dressed in her SeeD uniform bounced in.

"Wakey-wakey! Rise and shine Z-"

Selphie saw Xu. Her jaw dropped so far, it could have broken when it hit the floor.

"That…girl…was…Xu…?" she asked, practically gasping for breath.

"Correction: IS Xu" Zell said, proudly.

Selphie gawped, and then grinned.

"I'll give you an extra ten minutes" she said, before bouncing out again, closing the door behind her.

Xu put her arms around her boyfriend.

"You heard her…ten minutes" Xu said, sexily "We got ten minutes for…"

He grinned, and gently pushed her down onto her back.

"Your wish is my command, my love"

They were all gathered in the central garden, Squall, Rinoa, Selphie and Irvine were standing there together, waiting. 

Squall stood, looking at his watch.

"Where is Zell this morning?" he asked "He's late sometimes, but never this late!"

Selphie looked at Irvine, and grinned.

"What do you know that I don't know?" Irvine asked incredulously.

Quistis ran up.

"Hey…Have any of you seen Xu this morning, she's not in her dorm so I thought…"

As if the devil had been spoken of, there was the sound of running footsteps and Xu, looking slightly dishevelled but very happy run up.

"Sorry I'm late" she gasped, breathlessly "But I got up kind of late. I've been with my boyfriend you see…"

"Boyfriend?" Rinoa asked, grinning "Great! Is he cute?"

Xu nodded, grinning back.

"Sure is"

"Who is he, by the way?" Squall asked. 

There was the sound of feet again, and they all turned to see Zell run up from the same direction. 

The penny dropped.

"You're kidding…" Squall said in disbelief, shaking his head.

Zell ran up and grinned.

"Sorry I'm late!" he announced cheerfully, putting his arm around Xu and kissing her passionately on the lips "Hey there, my love" he said softly, and she grinned, and kissed back.

The rest of them stood in absolute astonishment.

Zell and Xu looked up.

"What?" they asked, in unison.

"Aren't they cute together?!" Selphie giggled, gleefully clapping her hands. 

There were nods, and various grins.

Zell and Xu looked at each other.

"So" Zell asked "Now what?"

**END OF PART THREE**

** **

****AuthorsNote: NO! It's not the end! The next episode expands their relationship yet further!


	4. CHAPTER 4

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

** **

The small, amphibious transport craft screeched up the grassy bank towards the garden, and it stopped.

Mission complete. Again.

Zell Dincht breathed in relief, and the hatch doors slid open. Squall jumped out, followed by Selphie, Irvine and Quistis, and finally Zell. They were all laughing and joking, but Zell was scanning the welcoming committee.

Xu had been on the command team, but he was constantly worried whenever they were apart. It had taken them two months, maybe even more to get themselves shared quarters, but that had been treated with extreme caution, since the Garden faculty said that they didn't usually approve of mixed-sex shared rooms unless the two were 'committed'

This thought had been bouncing around Zell's head for some time, and while he hadn't mentioned it to Xu, he now felt ready for a long-term commitment. As if going out for five years wasn't long term, he thought, but he essentially wanted that permanent partnership that many young men craved – Husband & Wife.

He still wasn't sure if that was what Xu wanted, but…he knew that was what he wanted, the awkward part was deciding when he'd tell her. 

"Zelly!" 

He looked, and grinned towards the familiar voice. Xu waved from the command group, and ran towards him, he ran towards her. He saw Rinoa and Squall embrace, and proceeded to do the same to Xu.

When they hugged, he kissed her, picking her up so that her toes only just touched the ground.

"Hey" she said.

"Hey" he replied, and squeezed her to him "Nice back-up we had there"

Xu blushed.

"Aw, well it's the least I could do" she said.

"Uh, people!" the voice belonged to Quistis "I know that you're glad to see each other, but I'm afraid we have a debriefing to go to"

Zell smiled, put his arm around Xu and together they followed the others towards the briefing room.

Xu held onto Zell as they walked, spinning in her own thoughts. She had something to tell him…

Xu had wanted to marry Zell for maybe a year now, but he hadn't talked about it very much, neither had he seemed too enthusiastic about it. 

Just as they were about to walk into the debriefing room, Xu called out to Quistis

"Uh…Quistis? Can I speak to you?"

She turned to her love.

"Go ahead, I'll catch you up"

He smiled, kissed her and went into the room.

Quistis lagged behind, and just before they walked in, Quistis turned to Xu.

"What's wrong, Xu?"

"Who says anything's wrong?" she asked, a little defensively.

"Xu, ever since we've known each other you've never asked for any kinds of help unless you were in serious trouble"

"Its…" Xu looked at her feet "…It's not that"

"What's up?" Quistis asked, softly.

Xu told her.

Quistis rolled her tongue around in her mouth, thinking hard.

"Well…It's certainly important – Don't you think you had better tell him?"

"Yes" she said "I'm just…really nervous…y'know?"

"You have to talk to him – This is something that could change both your lives"

Xu nodded.

"You're right. I'll tell him tonight"

Quistis nodded, smiling.

"Good – And good luck"

It was a warm evening, only due to the warm breeze that had sprung up, and gently blew the light grass of the park in waves, so it seemingly rippled in the moonlight.

The stars burned like gas lanterns, and it was beneath this speckled sky that Zell and Xu now walked.

They walked in silence, awkwardly. For the first time in a long time, they didn't say anything.

They reached a corner in the path. Xu stopped. So did Zell.

"This is where it started" Xu said, suddenly "Where we had our first proper meeting" 

Zell saw that she was right – That summer afternoon, five years ago. They had started their relationship on that day, and now here they were. Zell had spent a lot of money today – On a ring for Xu. A silver engagement ring that signified everything he felt for her.

"Yeah…The day I got a reason to live…and still do now" Zell replied.

Xu nodded, taking Zell's hand.

"I've got something to tell you – It concerns us, but don't worry, I don't want to break up or anything"

"Fine – I…got something to say myself" Zell said.

"You go first" she prompted.

She looked at him, eyes shining like diamonds.

"Well…I…"

Zell fiddled in his pocket, only to have his hand clench around the ring.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah" he replied, brightly "I've just got something to say"

"What?" 

He hauled his hand out of his pocket, but kept it tightly clenched. Zell suddenly felt a little shy, and turned away slightly.

"Uh…"

"Oh c'mon" she grabbed his arm, and pulled it towards her, her hand falling on his clenched one…which slowly opened.

There was a long silence, as Xu looked at the ring. She was numb with shock.

Zell took the ring, and gently slipped it onto Xu's finger.

"Marry me, Xu" he said, quietly "I know I'm a long shot – But sometimes long shots pay off big"

Further silence, and Xu's face slowly cracked into one of delight and joy, tears leaking from her eyes.

"I…I…I…I…I…"

Zell held his breath, as Xu held her ring finger up to the moon, catching the light on the silver ring.

"Yes! " she cried "Oh God, yes! I will!"

She threw herself against him, and he felt tears of his own slide down his cheeks.

"Crying too, huh?" he asked her, hoarsely.

"I've wanted this all my life" she whispered "I just – want you to know that"

He nodded, and gently kissed her forehead.

"Um…" she drew away for just a moment "…I've also got something to tell you"

Zell held her hands.

"What?" he asked, gently.

She looked up, tears still fresh in her eyes.

"I…I…I'm going to have a baby"

He stared at her. Zell felt as if his heart was going to stop.

"And…you're the father. You always have been"

Zell tried to say something – but he couldn't. He tried to move – but he couldn't. 

Then, his vocal chords managed something, a feeble, scratchy exclamation;

"I'm…going to be a dad?"

Xu nodded.

Zell's smile was so wide it could barely fit on his face, he took Xu in his arms, and kissed her passionately.

"That's fantastic!" Zell whispered "Now…we can live the rest of our lives together…with something to look forward to"

They hugged, kissed, screamed, hollered and cried for maybe fifteen minutes.

"Hey, you two…" Squall walked up, Rinoa on his elbow "I heard screaming – Is everything okay?"

"It is now" Zell said, squeezing Xu "It will be forever, now"

Squall & Rinoa looked at him quizzically.

"Uh…What are you talking about?" Rinoa asked.

"Zell proposed to me" Xu said, grinning.

Rinoa's face split into a smile.

"…and Xu's pregnant" Zell added.

This time it was Squall's turn to be surprised, but for a change – he smiled too.

"So…What are you two going to do now?"

Zell grinned at Xu.

"I wonder what" Rinoa said, wryly.

**THE END**

** **

**Authors Note: Whee! THIS IS THE COMPLETE VERSION!!! AS IN THE FULL, BIGGER, LONGER AND UNCUT VERSION! (Although I may cut the sex scene out due to a complaint I received about the certificate being a little low for the story content)**


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